


Champion Hop au (unfinished)

by Glitchy_Yagito



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28126812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitchy_Yagito/pseuds/Glitchy_Yagito
Summary: Funky story about Hop’s Adventure.. though, what happened if he became the Champion out of pure luck?
Kudos: 4





	Champion Hop au (unfinished)

Younger Hop POV:

A couple years ago...

“And there you have it folks! Champion Leon strikes again with another undefeated victory!” 

Pre-Recorded battles were one of the best things that I was given. Ever since my brother, Lee, became the champion, things have been different. Lee had to leave the house a lot to battle in the finals...but I didn’t feel alone. His TV presence was enough for me to feel like he was here.

The TV showed another scene, facing its attention to Leon doing his famous pose. The crowd went wild.

I always tried to pose with him, spinning around with a hop to create my own version. Best part was that.. I made my own cape made out of blue blankets! It wasn’t much, but I valued it a lot.

There I was. Posing side to side next to Lee, throwing our hands into the sky. I always reversed the video, wanting our poses to be timed right. Once that was done, I jumped into my bed, yanking out the gift that Lee gave me.

“Charizard! Use Fire blast!” A shout was thrown around the room. I raised my small hands up into the sky, bringing in my sparkling new stuffed toy crashing down to the ground. I desperately wanted to play with my other plushies I had. Excitedly, I brought out my Gyarados plush with an action figure, treating it as the rival. 

“Oh? So you dodged my attack? How could I, Leon, miscalculated?” I giggled, knowing Lee wouldn’t say something like that. I used the same attack from before, slamming my plush onto the discolored Gyarados. I picked up the action figure, giving it a voice, “Oh no!! I was defeated by Champion Lee— Leon once again!” I placed the action figure down to the bed, crossing my arms confidently. I giggled, “Well, well! It sure was a champion time, I look forward to our next figh-“

In the corner of my eye, I noticed a figure from my doorway, leaning on the door frame. He must have been listening... I looked away, quietly pretending he wasn’t there. He gave off a small chuckle, entering into my room. He jumped onto my bed, bouncing his legs on topto cross his legs. He grabbed the new plush he gave me, facing it in my direction.

“Pfft- Hop, you know I don’t sound like that! It’s been a week since I’ve seen you... Yet, it seems like you grew an inch!”

“I-I did?!” 

“Or maybe less... But maybe soon you’ll be the same height as me~!” Leon cleared up his throat, throwing a fist into the sky. “Now, back to where I left off... if you wanted to know what your big brother sounds like during his battles, then you’ll have to listen closely. Step one, you have to sound confident!”

“Confident!” My eyes were focused on Leon. I felt determined to listen to Lee’s advice, using it whenever I had the chance to fight him.

Leon brought the Charizard plush higher, shaking it around. “Step two, you always, ALWAYS, have to keep a close eye on your Pokémon. Including your rivals. Never get distracted. You’ll never know where you’ll end up if you don’t supervise the Pokémon on the battlefield.. Unless you want to end up like...”

Before I had time to react, Leon slammed the stuffed toy onto my face. 

“This guy~!”

Muffled laughing was heard, struggling to keep the plush away from my face. “Lee!! You didn’t give a chance to dodge that one!”

“That’s why they call me the champion, bud!”

Leon finally placed the plush down, centering it to his legs, showing me a demonstration on how I should treat my Pokémon. I watched closely, bringing in my blanket-cape to keep me warm.

“Step three, make sure the Pokémon and the trainer have similar minds. Now this may sound difficult, but it only depends on how close you and your Pokémon are.”

I nodded, calling out my Wooloo to come and help me. With a small cry, Wooloo rolled into the room, jumping onto my lap, and watched the toy battle. I used Wooloo as my example, fixing them up to face Leon’s plush.

“Wooloo, you and I will become the next champions!” I exclaimed, petting the soft wool. 

“Champion Hop and his amazing Wooloo, hm? That sounds like an interesting idea title *if* you dare to challenge AND win me.” Leon crossed his arms, confidently smirking.

Surprised, I yelled out yes, shivering a little from the tension of fighting Lee. He was my brother, why would I be so nervous about this plush sized battle?

“Alright, it’s settled. As your first battle with the champion, I choose my trusty plush Charizard as my first Pokémon to battle.”

I blinked for a moment, figuring out what pokemon I wanted to be. I could choose Gyrados, but Lee knew enough to counter my attacks, even if I had an attack advantage. I looked to the other side of my bed, seeing if any other plushies would help me out. A Pikachu... a Phuntump... they didn’t seem like a perfect fit for me. Lee did say that both I and the Pokémon should have a strong bond.

“Baaahhhh~!”

Wooloo cried, looking up to me with the same determined eyes I had. With a nod, I looked up to Lee, pointing down to Wooloo.

“And I, Challenger Hop, will use my trusty Wooloo~!” I giggled, winking down to Wooloo. Was this illegal? A plush fighting a real Wooloo? I wasn’t sure.

“Is that so? I could make an exception,” Leon smiled at Wooloo, finding it adorable that the little fluff ball wanted to play with them as well. Leon grabbed the Charizard, “However, don’t doubt me, young challenger. Even at this size, I’ll still manage to win.”

“Come on, say it! Say the line, Lee!” 

“Ahaha! Alright! You better follow along, young challenger.” 

Leon wrapped himself around with his cape, covering himself. I followed. We struck our hands into the sky, posing perfectly in sync. After a few seconds, the room was filled with laughter. Timing that perfectly with the REAL Lee felt like a dream. 

“Let’s have a champion time!”

“A champion time it is.”

Before I knew it, Lee began by using one of his famous moves, commanding the stuff toy. Using one of Lee’s strategies, I thought about what move Lee should use. I figured it was a grass type move, to counter the challenger. Challengers usually used a water type move as an advantage due to Charizard being a fire type. Smart thinking, but Wooloo was a normal type. What move could he use..? To start off, I wanted to play it safe, even if it was just a toy fight.

“Charizard, use Solar Beam!”

“Wooloo, dodge it!” I quickly commanded, moving Wooloo to the side where Lee couldn’t strike. “You missed- you missed!” I repeated, immediately thinking of another attack to put on the plush Charizard. “Wooloo, use Tackle!”

“Bahhhh—-!” 

I countered Lee’s attack, slamming Wooloo back down to my lap, taking the plush Charizard out of Lee’s hands. I closed my eyes as I attacked, opening to see Lee’s hands was now empty. Unsure where the plush went, I looked around, seeing if Lee had something up his sleeve. 

In surprise, I noticed Lee clapping. Was he congratulating me or was he planning another attack on Wooloo...?

“Unbelievable! Hop, you did it, you defeated me!”

“I-I did?!” I stuttered, looking down everywhere, noticing the stuffed Charizard on the floor, defeated. It took me a while to realize that I have, in fact, defeated Lee in this toy battle, standing on top of my bed with Wooloo as a Victory. “We did it! We defeated my brother!” I could have felt my cape flying through the air, giving me a sense that I was the chosen one.

Lee chuckled, crossing his arms. I sat back down, wanting to listen to what he had to say. “Step four, never doubt yourself. If you lose a battle, always enjoy the battle. Be proud that you were able to fight someone as honorable as you. Winning or losing, you’ll become even better.”

I gasped, nodding my head to agree to the four steps. “Does that make me Toy champion Hop..?”

Lee scooted closer to me, playfully ruffling my hair, “Sure thing! You were amazing, Hop! You really study my moves, hm?” 

“Maybe I do.. if I did, what are you going to do about it?” I giggled.

Leon chuckled, “Nothing! You’re only one step closer to becoming an amazing Pokémon trainer.”

“You really think so?” I asked. I looked down to my legs, swinging them around. I kept a small thought in mind, looking back to Lee. “Hey.. Lee.. do you think that I can defeat you..?” In the gym challenge?”

“Defeat me as a champion?” 

I nodded. Leon smiled, placing his hand to his chin, looking to the corner of the room, “Impossible.. but the impossible is possible. With a lot of hard training, I believe you can. Though, who knows. Maybe you’ll end up being another victim to my undefeated streak~.”

“No, I won’t! I’ll defeat you. Mark my words, Lee! I will defeat you.” I confidently stated, bringing my cape to my side, to show how great I was from defeating Lee in this toy battle.

“I’m sure you wil-“

Before Lee could have finished his sentence, both of our attention went directly to the door, hearing something...

Knock, knock.

From a distance, I heard my mum’s voice, “Hop! Victor and Gloria are here!” 

That was right! The twins and I were going to wander around the shops around here! 

I got off my bed, bringing my cape with me. I wanted to use this cape as proof that I defeated champion Lee in a toy battle and became the toy champion. Before leaving, I glanced back to Lee, smiling. 

“Before we go.. can we do it again..?”

“When will I ever deny an offer like that, Hop?” He chuckled, getting off the bed. Both of our capes were fixed up, waving in the back of us. We glanced at each other, nodding. In sync, we covered ourselves up in our capes. Stopping for a bit, wanting to pose at the right time. Once it was time, we pointed at the sky, posing perfectly. 

“See ya later, Lee!”

I gathered up as much repels I could have gotten, telling Wooloo to join our company just in case we get into trouble.I excitedly waved at Lee, running out of my room. Wooloo rolled from behind. Lee waved back, leaving the last image in my head to be Lee smiling back at me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My bed was pretty comfortable, making me drift away by counting Wooloo in seconds. Lee told us he would be visiting in a couple of days, so I had to be ready. I was excited to see Lee again, promising me some presents as soon as he came.

It took me a while to get up, constantly moving around my bed. Wooloo tried waking me up, tackling me multiple times. I snorted loudly to annoy them, then giggling a little. With enough tackles leaving me slightly off my bed, Wooloo backed up, shaking their head before tackling me with all their strength. A loud scream was heard after a loud thump on the ground.

“Ouch, Wooloo!” I shouted, rubbing my bottom. Wooloo sat on my bed, taking the space I once slept on. Happily sighing, I got up. I sketched for a bit, raising my hands as far as I could, and then scratched my back. I looked over to Wooloo, they seem to have my jacket and my clothes already prepared for me. I never knew there was someone else more motivated than me to see Lee.

“Wooloo.. You sure do know when to wake me up early. That’s why you’re my partner in crime!” I sat down on the bed, petting Wooloo. I quickly put on my clothes, patting them to make them less wrinkly. Once that was done, I headed to the bathroom with Wooloo rolling from behind. 

The bathroom was pretty clean, like sparkling clean. Mum must have been bored all day. Preparing the whole house for Lee yesterday left nothing to do for mum. I walked over to the shiny tub, showing some of my reflection. I smiled, finger gunning my reflection. “Looking pretty good, Hop~!”

I brushed my teeth, making them extra clean for the visitor that was coming later today. I grabbed a comb then proceeded to brush my hair. Hairstyles were weird. I felt like if anyone else tried to draw me as a reference, I was sure they would struggle a lot with my hair. But who would draw someone as handsome as me? I chuckled, leaving the bathroom.

I grabbed my bag from the living room. My trusty green bag that I had enough money for to start this adventure. I looked over to my mum, who was in the kitchen making breakfast for herself. 

“I’m off to the twin’s house, I’ll be back!” 

“Make sure to invite them to our barbecue later today, Hop!”

I closed the door on the way out, jogging to the twin’s house. I was sure I annoyed them enough with telling them that Lee was coming over but they were just excited as I was. Wooloo, of course, followed along, wanting to see the twins. The twins usually gave Wooloo a bunch of attention-! Sometimes that made me jealous that my best friend liked my other best friends than me—

I reached the twin’s house, ringing their doorbell. The twin’s mum opened the door, greeting Wooloo and me inside. I smiled, “Hello, hello!” I looked around the house, wondering where either Victor or Gloria was at. I heard a similar noise from the living room. Must have been Chairman Rose’s voice over at the finals! Wooloo rolled into the living room, but I was faster to get inside. With surprise, I saw Victor without his hat, watching the recent battle with Lee. 

“Oh! Is that your flash new phone, Victor?” He noticed me walking closer to him, catching a glimpse of what he was watching. He smiled, trying to pull it closer to him. I gasped, “Were you watching Lee’s exhibition match on it? But can’t cheer him on with your hands full! You know the only way to properly cheer on Lee would be with his famous Charizard pose!”

Victor stood up, placing his phone down on the couch. “Well, you want to do it together with me?” He chuckled, getting ready to pose. “I know you can’t possibly say no to that!”

“Hop! I didn’t expect you to be here so early!” 

I turned around, noticing a similar feminine voice from across the house. It was Gloria! We all both walked closer to her, greeting her. Gloria yawned, tiredly waving to the both of us. “I see he’s up and early as well..”

Victor chuckled, “You sure did take a while to wake up~!”

“Shut yer mouth, mum made me take all the wild Wooloo back to their area last night and those Wooloo sure do know how to start a fight!” Gloria groaned, showing a couple of bruises from her arm. Wooloo looked up to her, cheerfully crying to her. She ducked down, petting my Wooloo, “At least Hop’s treats me with respect...”

“They sure do,” I chuckled, relaxing my hands to the back of my head. 

Victor looked down to his phone, Gloria staring after, remembering the battle that was on the screen. Both Gloria and Victor looked straight at me, wondering the same question. “Is your brother actually coming today...?”

I nodded, walking closer to the door, “That’s why I came to get you both! You know that Lee always brings presents whenever he comes to visit! So you both should gather up your bags if I was in your shoes!”

“Leon’s getting gifts?! Wait up, let me get my hat!” Gloria exclaimed, looking to her room. “Hop! HOP!”

Victor tapped on Gloria’s shoulder, pointing to the door. My voice echoed into their house, “I have to run! See you both later at mine!” 

Running outside, I noticed some of the wild Wooloo blocking then twin’s way. I gathered up some of the Wooloo, signaling them to walk away from the sidewalk. They sure didn’t attack me... Maybe it was because I smelled like a Wooloo. 

“Hey, Hop!” Victor yelled out from their door. Both Victor and Gloria were on their porch, ready to see Lee. I turned around, waving to the both. “Nice bags! If Lee brought something as big as a Snorlax, then we will be prepared!”

“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t bring something that big, Hop! Maybe he might give us rare pearls from across the region! I heard the Pokémon center would be paying big bucks if they saw a big pearl like Leon’s!” 

“Not sure if I’ll sell something like that, Gloria. I think it’s priceless to spend something like that! Lee’s gifts are always amazing! I can’t possibly sell something like that away!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Wooloo turned around, noticing a single wild Wooloo. “Meehhh~!” All of our attention went to the strange sound. The wild Wooloo was tackling the wooden entrance of the Slumbering Weald.

“A Wooloo..? But what’s it doing here..?”

“I swear.. It was *that* Wooloo caused me some trouble yesterday.. Nicknamed him Tackle king...” Gloria grumbled, shaking her head. 

The wild Wooloo paid no attention to the all three of us, repeating the same tackle on the fence. We continued watching the Wooloo tackle, figuring that it was playing around.. until I noticed a little dent on the fence, getting closer to it.

“Hey! You silly Wooloo! I see what you’re up to! You can’t break that fence, you know that!”

“Isn’t there a scary Pokémon living in the Slumbering Weald?” Gloria asked, looking to Victor, “If a Wooloo is able to break the fence, you think a child would go missing inside those weald’s?”

“Unless it gets foggy, then probably..”

“Keep a positive mind, guys!” I looked over the wild Wooloo, noticing it looking our way. My main focus was it no longer tackling the fence. With a sigh of relief, I turned to the twins, bouncing slightly. Victor followed along, knowing exactly what was going to happen. Gloria, confused, looked to the both of us. From the smirks on our faces, Gloria knew what was about to go down as well.

“No. N o. You guys wouldn’t.”

As soon as Gloria finished her sentence, Victor and I started sprinting to Route 1, getting a head start to see Lee. Gloria soon followed after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I choose you, Sobble!” I yelled, looking down at the confused Pokémon. He seemed worried at first, backing up a bit from seeing my tall presence. I bent down, reaching out my hand to aware the small tear-eyed Pokémon that I wasn’t a danger to him. Sobble looked down to my hand, coming closer to observe it. Once he was comfortable, he looked up to me. His expression became more cheery. I directed him next to Wooloo, showing him that he wasn’t the only Pokémon that I owned.

“Sobble, huh? Not a bad Pokémon. That includes Scorbunny and Grookey. They all have their advances!” Lee stated, looking up to his own Charizard. Lee’s gifts were always so unique. I pondered if he got these Pokémon from the professor since I’ve never seen these three before.

I looked over to the twins. Victor got his hands first on Scorbunny. Scorbunny seemed to already enjoy his company. Gloria got her hands second with a Grookey. She seems to like Pokémon a lot. Grookey was desperately calling her name with her love of nature. I couldn’t decide which gift I wanted, so I left the last gift to myself.. secretly wanting the Sobble anyways.

Lee looked over to the twins, commenting on their Pokémon. “Ah, that’s right! Victor, Gloria! These are your first starters, right?” They both nodded. Their Pokémon were also excited that they were the first. Lee chuckled, crossing his arms. “You plan on naming them or leave them to Scorbunny and Grookey?”

Ah, that was right! The twins loved to name things. I remember from before that they wanted to name their Pokémon. They always seemed annoyed that I never gave my Wooloo a name. 

Victor and Gloria looked at each other, nodding to what they wanted their Pokémon to be named. Victor picked up Scorbunny, whispering a name to him. Scorbunny nodded, liking the name. “It’s been decided! Scorbunny‘s new name will be Axel! I always wanted to name a fire type that too!”

“Axel?” Gloria chuckled, nudging to her Grookey. “Grookey‘s new name will be Shamrock~. I think the name fits an amazing Pokémon like Grookey here!”

“Axel? Shamrock? Hmm.. Alright, it’s settled! Now I know the names of my rival’s Pokémon! And now since I know... I demand a fight.. to the both of you!” I excitedly stated, pointing to the twins. I always wanted to fight a double, bringing Sobble and Wooloo closer to me. “How about it? Two against two? You two against the younger brother of the champion? I see that as a fair battle.”

“Is that really a fair battle...?” We looked over to Leon. He gave us a shrug, nodding afterwards. “Sobble has an advantage to Axel.. however, Axel has Shamrock on their team to counter Sobble’s attacks. Sobble has Wooloo on his team.. I assume the battle is fair. But the point here is to practice, so winning or losing doesn’t matter here.”

“Yeah! Besides, win or lose, I want my first battle to be with you two! To cherish the moment even more!” I stated. I desperately wanted a battle. I figured that I would win the battle, keeping it easy for both Victor and Gloria. I was pretty sure they knew a bit about Pokémon. Watching and reading a bunch of Lee’s battles educated me a lot more than it should have. Did you know Charizard was from the Kanto region? I heard it was pretty popular there from a recent event that happened with a younger trainer with a partner Pokémon. I forgot their names and their partner Pokémon though...

Gloria and Victor nodded, sending out their Pokémon in front of them. With a smile, I started the battle, commanding Wooloo to use tackle and Sobble to use Growl on Shamrock. Eventually, I came down to one Pokémon, Wooloo fainting first and Sobble being low on damage. I managed to take down Shamrock.. Now, it was time to finish off Axel. I had the advantage, having a water type be more powerful than a fire type.But I wasn’t sure if it’ll matter. We were both on low health but I had Sobble barely standing. Just one more attack.. Just one more attack.

“Sobble, use Water gun!”

“Axel, use tackle!”

Even saying the command first, I noticed a Pokémon knocked out on the ground. It was Sobble. I paused for a couple of seconds, looking down at both of my fainted Pokémon. I looked over to the twins. Axel was fine. Barely standing. I returned both Pokémon. “You both beat both of my Pokémon! You guys are too much!” I sighed, “Well, that was a shock! Lee must have known you both would know how to control your Pokémon.”

“Well, this is our first battle. You did great!” Victor exclaimed, giving out a thumbs up. 

“Hmph.. and I had the advantage...” Gloria chuckled, patting Shamrock. She whispered to the Pokémon. Shamrock happily cried.

Leon, however, was clapping with a smile. His animated movements clearly showed how excited he was seeing both of us fight. Must have reminded him when he was around my age. “Com’on Hop, you and your Pokémon fought hard! All of you did.” Leon stretched, patting his bag. “Almost made me throw out Charizard and join in the action!”

Leon took out a couple of berries, giving them to the Pokémon for them to rest. They seem to enjoy the berries a lot. And of course.. Wooloo begged for more. Watching the Pokémon was adorable! I think Axel actually offered to give me a berry, but I refused. Distracted, I didn’t notice Leon and the twins were having a small talk, looking over to me. “Be a real rival to each other and Hop, would you? Push yourselves, and become stronger!”

It wasn’t long until were were cleaning up after the meal. Our bellies were filled to where none of us was really able to walk. A bit of me wanted to eat just a little more— but Mum already decided to take away all the supplies to make more.

~~~~~~

All three of us was set to go onto an adventure. An adventure of a life time! Based on what our parents had told us, this day will change our lives. 

“Victor, Gloria...I don’t know what’ll happen, but that only excites me more!”

Gloria leaned back, rolling her eyes in a playful manner, “What doesn’t excite you? I’m pretty sure catching another Wooloo and then paining it’s Wool black would be the greatest thing you’ll ever encountered!”

“It would..! I heard Wooloo can be born with black wool! They’re extremely rare! So catching one would be cool, sis!” Victor crossed his arms, just thinking about getting a discolored Pokémon to just poke fun at Gloria.

“Haha! See, I’m not the only one that thinks that way! It adds more into the adventure! You never know what’ll come onto our way!”

My mind immediately drifted off, talking about different colored Wooloo made me wonder on what had become to that Wooloo near the slumbering Weald. Without a moment to think, I trailed off to the same path leading to the wealds. 

The fence... The fence! I looked back to my rivals, pointing to the sight. 

“That Wooloo! It destroyed the fence! We have to go in and save it!”

The twins quickly ran to the broke fence, looking around to find a piece of wool stuck on the wood. Victor sent out Axel, keeping his buddy close. Strong people might lurk around the wealds. Gloria already sent out Shamrock, them being on her shoulders. My mind didn’t settle on taking out my Pokémon, but to instead save the Wooloo, quickly running inside the weald with my two rivals.

“Wooloo! Where are you!” We all shouted, staying close just in case things went downhill. We looked around for the Wild Wooloo, our only hints being the faint sound of its cry.

Little by little, the fog around us started to close up. Nearby bushes became our enemy, constantly close to tripping on them and causing a battle with a wild Pokémon to occur. After Gloria’s fight with a Rokidee, our attention went to the fog, staying close as possible.

“Oi, Hop! Where are you! I can’t see anything..?! I’m not sure if Victor went off to wander deeper in the wealds and ended up getting lost!”

“Hey! I’m still here! I thought you went off to find Wooloo yourself, sis!”

“Mates, I’m not sure where we are! Stay close and have your Pokémon out just in case!”

In a cold sweat, we bumped into each other, looking to opposite directions regardless. But one thing for certain, our eyes focused onto two silhouettes calming walking towards us, howling. Our eyes focused on them. Magenta fur, yellow eyes...Cyan fur, yellow eyes.. they looked beautiful. 

My first reaction was to send out my Wooloo, wanting the Cyan wolf to avoid hurting us. The twins did the same to the other. My first reaction was to throw a pokeball at it, but I sensed I shouldn’t. My next option was to attack. 

“Sobble, use tackle!”  It had no effect.  “It’s okay, use it one more time!”  It had no effect.

I started to feel stubborn, wanting to trade Sobble for Wooloo but my vision became dizzy. Feeling lightheaded, I stepped back, holding my head just in case I was going to fall. Little did I know, I was tilting back, trying to straighten out my posture.. but by the time I noticed the twins were already on the floor, I collapsed as well.

———

“Hop..!”  My body felt weak, struggling to get up from the hard ground. From the distance, I heard my name repeatedly. It echoed in my mind, moving quietly enough for me to start opening my eyes. “Hop, Victor, Gloria! Are you lot alright?” The echos becoming once clear voice, reminding me instantly who was calling for all three of us.

I sat up, rubbing my head and eyes. When my vision became clear, I noticed a familiar hand in front of me, tilting my head up to see my brother in concern. I grabbed his hand, chuckling nervously. “Ah, thanks.”

____________

Later that day, before sending off to start my Pokémon adventure, we had a barbecue. This one barbecue felt special to me. Other than the fact that Lee and my best friends were here, I felt as if this day was different. I knew on the very next day, I was ready to start training and making a team to defeat the first gym at Turffield with the grass-type gym leader, Milo. Already his gym had an advantage to my Pokémon, so finding other types will help me out to start off the challenge.

Gloria caught on my expressions, noticing that I stayed a bit silent when eating my meal. She tilted her head, pointing over to my meal. “Hey, mate, you feeling alright? Barely touched yer food?”

I nodded. Without having anyone else concerned, I started eating. Thinking ahead of myself and planning how I’ll become the best would be no fun if my adventure was all planned. After the big meal, I went to bed. I noticed Sobble was still terrified of the pokeball, sending him out with Wooloo to rest with me.

Next day was a big day. I rose bright and early to get ahead of the twins. I managed to catch myself a Rookidee and train them to show Lee that I was ready to do the gym challenge. Lee had told me to meet him in the professor’s house to grab myself a Pokédex. Being there first, I noticed Gloria coming closer. She waved at me, going inside the Professor’s house to grab her Pokédex. Then came Victor, panting heavily with a Poke ball in his hands. 

With all three of us in front of Lee, he explained a bit more information about the battles over in the finals and how G-maxing out Pokémon is a whole different experience than how normal Pokémon battles usually go. Though, what caught my interest was about Lee endorsing us into the gym challenges. 

Motivated, I looked over to the twins, bouncing around the idea that we all should have another battle and try our hardest to have Lee endorse us. This time, I knew I’ll win. I have to bring out everything I got. We fought again, bringing out our hardest this time.

Unfortunately...

I lost, again. Ah, no matter! This battle is show endorsement, not who’s better!

Even if we all got endorsed, it still only sparkled a small motivation to start to be the best of the best. I couldn’t let my rivals win the next battle. I continued training and training until we reached Motostroke to register for the gym challenge.

Registering for the gym challenge was also a problem for me. The twins and I took turns to register and once it was my turn, I was pushed aside by another trainer. I stepped back, catching myself before falling down. I glanced at the trainer who pushed me, giving no attention to his actions. 

He registered, sighing in relief. The trainer fixed his hair, giving a snarky look to the other trainers in line. He gave off a small chuckle as he left the area, pushing me as he passed by. I watched him leave, controlling my temper.

“Seriously? What a piece of work..” I shook my head. “Who does he think he is?”

“I heard he was endorsed by Chairman Rose.. but that’s all he mentioned,” Gloria stated, watching the mysterious blonde boy walk off. He was soon given a crowd, asking who he was, but the blonde boy refused to say.

“No matter. Let’s just get registered and leave, alright?” I walked up to the counter, crossing my arms. “Get me all signed up would you?” 

Wow! What a day to brighten up my mood. The guy in the counter commented on how us three were the first to be endorsed by the champion. I might have slightly mentioned that I was going to be the next champion. Not to brag or anything.

“There! You both are registered. You can now choose your preferred number for your uniform, if you’d be so kind?”

Right! A number. Com’on Hop! Think of a good number.. I always thought about picking 1 or 2.. Lee’s was 1, but I didn’t want people to confuse me as him. Number 2 would be amazing too! But I didn’t want to be under Lee’s shadow.. So, I thought about the numbers out my head.

“1– 189!”

“189..?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, your uniform will be in the changing room.”

I walked out of the registering room, keeping my eyes away from the jerk. He was just a trainer who thought of himself highly. I’ll end up forgetting when I head to the gyms, hopefully... But just you wait until his spirit gets destroyed.

Beating the gyms did give me more confidence on becoming a better trainer. Milo’s gym was simple. Most trainers were able to defeat the first gym- but Grass types had an advantage to Water types. So using Rookidee and Wooloo was my best choice on the first gym. The crowd during the battle rake notice of my name but still titled me as the younger brother of Leon. But that didn’t matter. The crowd knew I was a challenger and that was enough for me. I started thinking back to the first battles I had with the twins, chuckling. Maybe I started on a rough start, who knew. 

Another battle. I wanted to win this one. This is the battle to show that my rivals and I were on the same page. I texted them on the phone, wanting to know where they were headed. Gloria was busy talking to Sonia. She mentioned that after her battle with Kabu, Sonia came up and told her that she knew something strange about Galar, wanting to find out the real history behind it. Victor was over at the next gym, finishing up the water type gym leader, Nessa. We were already starting on gyms that had the advantage over our Pokémon. I suggested it long before we were trainers but I was surprised they took my advice on it. We were set up to met up over at Route 5.

My Pokémon was something I never thought I would have a close relationship with. We’ve all gotten close from the battles we did. So close that Sobble and Rookidee had evolved into Drizzile and Corvisquire during the battle with Milo. On that day, I celebrated their hard work by camping outside of the Turffield. Camping was more of a peaceful event I liked. Being around the Pokémon I liked was refreshing. I wished I had invited Gloria and Victor over, but they seemed to be busy on their own thing. I closed my eyes, letting the bright sun hit my face.

After a while, I felt a slight tap on my shoulders, moving slightly. Second tap, I didn’t move. Third tap wasn’t even a tap. It was Wooloo using tackle on me. I woke up, screaming. I sat up, scratching my head. I glanced directly to Wooloo.“Silly Wooloo, what is it..?” 

Wooloo looked to the side, pointing to Victor and Gloria. I sat up as immediately from seeing them, fixing my hair and the patches of grass from my clothes. Both of the twins chuckled.

“Oi, Hop! You said you wanted us to meet you here?” Victor asked, “But I didn’t know we were going to have a sleepover!”

Gloria nudged Victor, “Did something happen?”

I shook my head, bouncing upward, “You guys made it!” I whistled to my other two Pokémon, showing them that they had grown a bit from the last time we battled. “Now, it’s been a while, but I really want to test out our abilities with our Pokémon again!”

“Again?” Victor looked to Gloria, shrugging, “I see why not.”

“But I think this time we should keep it one trainer battling one trainer to make it even, especially since Victor and I caught the same number of Pokémon you have.”

I nodded, agreeing. First it was Gloria. She had the advantage to my Drizzile.. but her other Pokémon were still unknown to me. I took a deep breath, throwing out Wooloo first to start the battle, Gloria threw out Shamrock, who recently became a Thwackey.

I lost the battle. No worries, I have one more! I had the advantage with Victor, so I HAD to win this one. I healed up both Gloria’s and my Pokémon with leftover curry I had already made for my Pokémon. I let my Pokémon relax in the camp, bringing out the toys I had before fighting Victor.

Once the time came to fight Victor, I was sure that all three Pokémon were fed and trained. I threw out Drizzile, Victor started off with his Axel who became a Raboot over time. Gloria cheered for both teams, clapping each time a hit was successful.

Of course, I still lost no matter what. But, it didn’t matter. Lee had told me before that losing and winning had not mattered if we were all getting stronger. I gave Victor and his Pokémon the remaining curry, finding the curry to be sweet.

After the camp, we all set out for the night. I continued camping, wanting to practice more. I just knew that one of these battles, I’ll win one.. and when that day comes, I’ll be sure to defeat the other twin. So, I kept my hope’s high, training my Pokémon even more.

I headed to a nearby hotel after the battle, wanting to rest easy with my Pokémon. Corvisquire was a bit more comfortable being around his pokeball- but usually, I sent him out for the other Pokémon’s company. Wooloo always snuggled with me. Wooloo and I were the best of friends! I knew taking off Wooloo off my team would never happen. They were my partner in crime! Taking out Wooloo off my team was like ditching a friend. But I know by heart that I would never take Wooloo off my team.

It was late at night and I was still awake. I tried to count Wooloo but the last number I ended up was on 189. My lucky number. I knew it shouldn’t bother as much but it still wondered around my mind like wild crowd Rookidee wanting to take my berries. I chuckled, looking over to my snoring Corvisquire. That was kinda how I met Corivisquire.. in the berry trees. Now that was a nice thought to have. I mumbled to myself, “Com’on Hop, you’re better than this. Remember what Lee said. It’s okay to lose as long as you learn something out of it.” I closed my eyes again, echoing those words in my mind.

It took a while, but I fell asleep. I dreamt of making myself a cape, similar to Lee’s. Should it be red? No.. I didn’t want to be a direct copy to Lee. Losing a couple of battles would already make me and Lee different. In the dream, Leon even tried to help me make the cape. Before suggesting, he told me how proud he was, patting my head. Before coming to a conclusion on what color my champion cape should be, Wooloo woke me up. 

This time, I got up quickly, not wanting Wooloo to tackle me off the bed again... especially with three more Pokémon on their side. As usual, Wooloo prepared my clothes. Drizzile got my attention, pointing to the hotel’s free breakfast. Most hotels didn’t include free breakfast- most usually had a discount if you were facing the gym battles though! 

I ran down to the hotel’s dining room. Meeting up with the people who owned the hotel was more than happy to see young trainers like me join the gym challenge. Some of them even asked if I was Lee... I smiled, dismissing it off as his younger brother. It didn’t bother me at the time, but I started to notice that most people only knew me as the ‘brother of Champion Leon.’ The title was great and everything, but when will my name be remembered as just Hop. Ack-! Focus, Hop. 

I remembered seeing Victor and Gloria come around at the same hotel I was at. I asked them to sit with me, wanting to tell them about the next gym and how we all plan to get the badges from it.

I looked over to the twins, taking out my badges to show them. They must have had equal badges at me, but it felt nice to show off to people. “Gloria, Victor! Look how shiny they are! You think Lee would be jealous of us getting badges so quickly?!”

“How long did it take for Leon to get all the badges.. I heard rumors that he collected all the badges in a single day!” Victor added in, cutting his breakfast into pieces to eat them easier.

“It was around that! Lee was born a champion, so getting to the championships was the easiest thing for him! Though, days have already passed.. but no matter, you know what they say! Slow and steady wins the race, right?” 

Both Gloria and Victor nodded. Slow and steady, huh? I always wondered about that phrase. Would it work on losers? Eh, probably not. My head clouded up with these thoughts until I noticed another trainer gave eye contact with me. Victor and Gloria were distracted with their breakfast to notice my attention to a familiar blonde boy.

I looked away for a couple of seconds, looking back. The boy continued to keep his eyes on me. The boy grunted, walking away with his meal to a different table. I’ve remembered him from signing ups for the gym challenge. He was the same guy who pushed me away from the sign ups! I should have told him off to stop looking at me.. but his glare was enough for me to place my fork down. I shook my head, throwing the remaining food to Wooloo.

I left the hotel, packing up my things to head out to the wild area to train my Pokémon more. However, this time, Victor headed out with me, wanting to catch some Pokémon himself. He was motivated to train his Pokémon for the next gym that was coming up. Gloria on the other hand, already wanted to face the other gyms. She stated that she would go back to training until she lost a battle. 

And so, the trip to the wild area began.

Tap, tap.

Our taps were now in sync. We were both on our phones, checking out the latest media that was published about the finals. So far, a list of challengers has now been posted. Scrolling down was a pain just to find our names.. but once we finished up all the three gyms, we were sure that our name would end up being visible. I checked on the wild area’s recent Pokémon and it’s weather. I wouldn’t want my jacket to be dirty, after all.

Victor checked up on the Pokémon around the areas too, writing down places he should head to find berries for his curry. I overheard him saying that he might end up fishing as well for his battle with Kabu.

I yawned, placing down my phone beside me. This train ride did take a while after all. I looked over to Victor, leaning down to my arm to feel more comfortable. He placed down his phone as well, chuckling. “You already tired out from the ride? We can go ask for some drinks if you want to.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t in the mood for a drink. Instead, I had more of a mood to battle and train my hardest. I really wanted to be one of the best. It’ll get my name next to Lee’s, showing that I’m not some shadow to him. “Just a little tired, mate. A lot has happened in a day, you know?”

“The day only barely started, Hop.”

I looked up, remembering that it was a bright morning. “Oh- right. Apologies, mate. I barely had any sleep last night. Up all night planning my move-sets for my next gym with gym leader, Nessa.”

“Well, that explains your bags. Shouldn’t be doing that or you’ll overwork yourself.”

“Gloria overworks herself-“ I mentioned.

“Well, you got me there.. But I never saw you with bags under your eyes. You told me before that you only stay up when Leon has a late night battle, but I’ve been looking around the news about a battle but there was no sign of it.” Victor placed his phone down, relaxing his hands onto the table. A moment of silence occurred. My tired eyes rising up to look at my concerned friend. His expression straightened up. My ears only focus on the next words that would come out of Victor’s mouth, “Has something been bothering you lately..?”

Another silence. I gulped, raising my head up to talk to Victor directly. I placed my hands under the table, fidgeting my hands as I spoke. “What makes you say that..? I’m just tired, Vict-“

“Hop. Gloria and I started noticing this. You always had shivers when people brought you up with Leon. During our battles, we noticed your expression after you lost. Tell us the truth.”

“Seriously, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it, mate.”

We continued to glance at each other. Victor opened his mouth, quickly getting interrupted by the train’s announcement. I hopped off my seat, walking out of the train quicker than Victor. I stayed outside the train station, waiting for Victor to follow along. I wanted something to change the conversation. I didn’t want the conversation of ‘feeling’ better to come back. I didn’t want to speak my mind. I just knew if I won just one battle, then these small problems will go away.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Ah geez.. this day literally went away in a flash. What did I even do today? All I remember was hanging out with Victor in the wild area. Around the afternoon, we both went our separate ways, finding the gym that had the same type as the Pokémon Lee gave us way back then. I ended up in Hulbury. The town felt crowded from its placement on buildings, but I found it unique regardless. I remembered also trying to get into the gym, but from afar, I noticed the same cream-haired trainer from before. This time, he was walking around with ‘undercover’ Chairman Rose with his assistant. Once the two went away, the trainer seemed to notice my existence, growling at me. “So you’re the younger brother of the champion, right? I’m not sure if someone like you would be able to win more than 4 badges.”

———————————-

“What makes you say that..?”I asked, walking closer to the trainer. I kept my figure strong, wanting to see what the trainer wanted to say about me. Would it upset me? Yes. But in order to be a champion, you have to face the backlash. What can this trainer to do me anyways? We were on the same leveled. Endorsed by well known people, he probably had the same number of badges as me. So what was there to lose? “Who are you anyways..”

The trainer scoffed. Brushing his hair to the side. He didn’t want to bother talking to me, so I repeated myself in a louder tone.

“Hop was it? Listen. I heard you and your friends got endorsed by the champion himself, which makes you a bit higher than the rest of the trainers going for the finals.. So I might as well share my name for you to know the future champion of Galar,” the trainer placed his hand on his waist. I tensed up, crossing my arms. “The name is Bede, I was endorsed by the Chairman himself, don’t forget it.”

Bede? How could a name like that become something like....that! 

“Bede? So you’re saying you know the chairman personally? I’ve never heard the chairman even mention you-”

“Well- I-“ Bede stuttered in his words, growling after. “That’s none of your business. You should now wander off, I already gave you the information that you need-“

“No.” I interrupted, taking out my Poké ball. “I’m sure you haven’t fought with my rivals, correct? You know, Gloria and Victor.”

Bede looked away, growling at the name of Gloria. They must have met around Turffield. The mine? The gym? I wasn’t sure. Bede rolled his eyes, grabbing a pokeball out from his belt. He seemed pretty annoyed doing it. “If the champion endorsed you, then you must be as good as Gloria. Though, she only won by pure luck.”

“Pure luck? If I know Gloria, she’s an amazing trainer!” I chuckled, throwing out Corvisquire. Bede glanced at the Pokémon, chuckling. He threw out a Solosis, giving a cry when it came out of the Pokéball.

“You think she’s amazing trainer? Then you better promise a good battle.” Bede looked over to his Pokémon, pointing directly to mine, giving it a command, “Solosis, use Psybeam!”

“Corvisquire, dodge it and use Fury Attack!”

One.

Two..

Three... 

It was a while until all my Pokémon fainted. Knocking down two out of four Pokémon at end. My heart was throbbing quickly from seeing my last Pokémon being brought back into my pokeball or rest. My eyes laid down to the floor, gulping to the reaction that Bede would have gave me. I was being weak. I shook my head, wiping away the sweat on my face, and looked up to Bede.

Bede recalled his Pokémon, confused. We continued to glared for a bit, Bede must have tried to figure how this battle went. Without notice, Bede snickered, pointing directly at me. “So you’re the one who got endorsed by the champion himself? How terrible are you! I’ve been told you are also the younger of Leon! How did your parents make something so good but yet crate something like you!”

I growled, looking down. Bede wasn’t that loud, but enough for me to hear what he said clearly. Just losing was enough for me to have a headache of Bede’s voice ramble in my head. Bede’s mouth starters moving, but it was difficult to understand.. 

I shook my head, “Hey!” The echos of Bede’s voice went away, “This was only our first battle! I’ll have more battles to practice on, but I will get stronger. It doesn’t seem like it here, but mark my words. I’ll beat you.”

“Hmph. I found you entertaining, especially for a battle like this, but I can’t waste my time for pointless battles. Chairman Rose expects me to be best of best. Now move along with your useless life, I have to start heading to the next gym battle.” 

Bede walked away, shoving me once again. That nerve of that guy. I thought it was something about him that made me dislike him but now I was sure that this..this trainer was just a load of- I sighed. I didn’t want more emotions to bother me today. I looked down to my poke ball and then to the water type gym. Was I really that bad in training my Pokémon? 

I held a grip on my Pokémon, running to the nearby Pokémon center to heal my Pokémon. People noticed my attitude, greeting me nicely. I still had my doubts on my own being, but I couldn’t let down a smile to such good people in Hulbery.

Ah.. that was stupid. I eventually got my badge over at the water type gym. It wasn’t too bad compared to Milo’s! My team was pretty much safe, especially since I had gotten myself a grass type to use on Nessa’s! Nessa even mentioned that I wasn’t a bad of a trainer.. which brought up my confidence.

On the way to Motostroke, my mind was in a constant argument. Was I good enough.. or was I- No. Stop. This was getting more annoying! I started to punch my other arm, punishing myself to stop thinking stupid thoughts. The punch didn’t leave a bruise, but it was enough to cause a small pain. 

Maybe if I saw my rivals.. Maybe that would make me feel better. No fight, no losing. But I didn’t want to bother them. Especially getting them to camp me with me the other day- What if they only joined me for pity! I don’t want pity! I’m a tough trainer! I’m as tough as them- Ack! Stop it! Shut yourself up, Hop!

I threw another fist to my side, barely missing my arm. I felt my eyes losing its sight from the amount of tears building up. I couldn’t have people stare at the brother of the champion see me like this. I knew no one had their eyes on me, but I swear, I can just feel thousands and thousands of eyeballs watching over my back, watching my sadness for their own entertainment. 

“Stop...” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I ran as fast as I could to Monostroke, carrying my bags. The bag itself was enough for me to carry, but something else was dragging me down. That was a bad choice on my end, missing out on many trainers and wild Pokémon to battle with to improve my Pokémon. 

I stopped my tracks when entering the Pokémon center on Motostroke. Taking a good glance to it reminded me of my own Pokémon and how I haven’t released them out after the battle with Bede. I walked in, healing my Pokémon, and then sent them out to go on and practice for the next gym battle.. the fire badge. I had the advantage, of course, but I liked to play it safe. Advance or not, if Kabu trained their Pokémon well, a water type Pokémon wouldn’t stand a chance.

Wooloo bounced out of their ball, already wanting to feel the fresh air. I kept them inside my pokeball for an awful long time. Seeing the Pokémon out of the balls, enjoying themselves, couldn’t stop me from joining them with their excitement. My mind came to a close on the negative thoughts. I looked down to my wrist, noticing a small mark on the side.. but at least I had the same friendship bracelet as Wooloo’s. That was the thing that mattered a lot to me.

Wooloo seemed to notice my tone of voice. Of course they would. We’re been partners since forever! Even before Leon was a trainer. Wooloo tugged my jacket, wanting my attention. I ignored them for a good while. I couldn’t let my partners to be distracted by my own emotions. Wooloo seemed to be bothered by this- tackling me from behind. 

—-Unfinished—-

**Author's Note:**

> haha I tried but I hope you liked it


End file.
